Machine for edging sheet-metal roofing-plates.



No. 655,903. Patented Aug. I4, |900.

A w. MARTIN. MACHINE FR EDGING SHEET METAL BUFING PLATES.

(Application led Oct. 31, 1899.)

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No.' 655,903. Patented Aug. I4, |900.

w. ummm MAGHI'NEFDR EDGING SHEET METAL RODFING PLATES.

(Applcntion filed Oct. Si, 1599.)

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(No mdl.)

www i No. 655,903. Ptented Aug. I4, |900. W. MARTIN.

MACHINE FOR lEDGING SHEET METALYROOFING PLATES.

. (Application led Oct. .31, 1899.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3..

v Miren Smarts PATENT @urina VILLIAM MARTIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MACHINE FOR EDGING SHEET-METAL ROOFlNG-PLATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 655,903, dated .August 14, 19(00. Application tied october s1, 1899.1 saturo. 735,363. momma.)

T0 cir/ZZ whom it' iii/ty con/cern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MARTIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, in the city and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Machine for Edging Sheet-Metal Roofing-Plates, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to a machine for edging sheet-metal roofing-plates, with the object in view of providing means for automatically transferring the plates one after another from a stack to the position where their edges will be acted upon and bent in the de-` sired directions and then allowing them to drop onto a receiver. l

The so-called edging of roofing-plates consists in bending a side and one end of the plate over toward the body of the plate in one direction and the remaining side and end of the plate over in the opposite direction.

My present invention contemplates mechanically feeding the plates to and discharging them from the bending-tools and simultaneously bending the four edges by mechanical means alone, thereby materially reducing the cost of labor. K

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a view of the machine in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a top plan view. Fig. 3 is an end view., Fig. 4L is an enlarged partial vertical longitudinal section along the line 44 of Fig. 2, showing the bending-tools in the position which they occupy before the bending operation begins. Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the position of the bending-tools when the operation of bending is completed, and Fig. 6 represents in perspective one of the edged sheets.

The bed-frame of the machine is denoted by A and may be of any well-known or approved form suitable for supporting the several operating parts. Upon the bed-frame Ashaft-supporting brackets a a/ are fixed, in which the main drive-shaft B is journaled and provided with a suitable driving-pulleyb, which may be connected with a source of power. (Not shown.) The drive-shaftB imparts motion to the several parts of the feeding, bending, and discharging mechanisms by means of cams of various sizes and shapes and a crank, to which particular attention will be called.

The plates are transferred one after an- V other from a stack to the bending mechanism by means of a pneumatic lifter. j matic lifter consists of an arm C, hinged to This pneua carriage o at c to swing toward and away from the top of the stack of plates P. Its free end is providedwith a mouth surrounded by lips c2 of pliant matelial-Y-siich, for example, as rubber or leather-and its mouth is connected with a suction-pump D by means of a flexible pipe CZ. With each revolution of the shaft B a lifter p under the stack of plates P is raised by a cam b, fixed on the shaft and adapted to engage a vertically-movable pin p on one arm of a rocking lever 192, fulcrumed in a bracket d2, depending from the bed-frame A. At the same time the stack of plates is lifted by the lifter p the piston in the suction-pump D is operated by an arm d', pivoted to an uprising bracket ai on the bedframe and operated by a cam hzon the driveshaft. Thus when the uppermost plate of the stack P is brought into close contact with the lips c2 at the mouth of the lifter suction will be applied through the pipe CZ and the plate will be held to the lifter until the suction is released. The plate is held to an arm C, while the said arm is lifted by a swinging :frame E khinged to uprights a4 d5 of the bed-frame, and subject in turn to be swung upwardly by means of a cam h3 on the drive-shaft B and while so lifted is carried bodily along the machine from a position over the stack to a position above where it is to be bent by means of the carriage c, which is slid along a way d on the bed-frame by means of a pitman c3, connected with a crank b4 on the drive-shaft. After reaching a point over the position where it is to be bent the cam b3 gradually lowers the swinging frame E, thereby lowering the arm C until the plate carried by the arln C nears the position where it is to be bent, and at this moment the cam releases the suction on the pump D, thereby permitting the plate to drop into position to be bent, and the cam b3 and crank b4 proceed to return the arm C to its normal position, while the further rotary movement of the shaft B operates the bending-tools.

Before the plate reaches the position where it is to be bent the combined anvil-support andv discharge has been swung into position beneath the plate ready to receive it. This combined anvil-support and discharge device is fixed to a comparatively-thin angleplate F, two of its edges ff being adapted to form guides down over which two adjacent edges of the plate are to be bent. The angleplate F is conveniently made a prolongation of an arm f2, fixed to a bearing f4, loosely mounted on a spindle f5 and permitted a limited vertical movement on said spindle, the said bearing being provided with a short arm f6 in position to engage a cam b5 on the shaft B, by which the angle-plate F is swung into position to support the plate while being bent and out of position, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2, to discharge the plate after the edges of the plate have been bent. In its movement into position to receive the plate to be bent the angle-plate F is gradually lifted by the engagement of the arm f2 (see Fig. 3) with a stationary cam f7 in order to permit it to pass beneath the bending mechanism at the edge of the plate, and a portion of the said angle-plate F, adjacent to the arm f2, is provided with a band, as shown at f8, Fig. 1, to permit it to rest in its elevated adjustment when it reaches its position without interfering with the bending mechanism at the edge. The angle-plate F is forced into its position to support the plate while being bent by means of the cam b5 on the driveshaft and is returned to its position to discharge the plate by means of a spring f, connected at one end to the arm f2 and at its opposite end to a suitable support-in the present instance to the standard a5. A similar angle-plate F', with edges adapted to form guides up over which the remaining two edges of the plate to be bent are forced by the bending mechanism, is secured to a bearing flo, mounted on a spindle fu, fixed in the bed-frame and permitted a limited vertical movement on said spindle. The bearing flo is pressed normally toward its ele- Vated position on the spindle]E11 by means of a coil-spring]cl2 for the purpose of carrying the angle-plate F over the bending mechanism at the edge of the plate to be operated upon, and in order that the angle-plate F may rest in its lowered position on the plate after Areaching its position over the plate it has its neck curved upwardly, as shown at The said an gle-plate is forced down into its position on the plate by means of a fixed cam f1* in position to engage the shank of the angle-plate as it nears its position over the plate to be bent. This angle-plate F is operated by means of a rod G, connected with a short arm flf on the bearing flo and adapted to be engaged by a cam h6 on the drive-shaft B. The cam forces the rod G in the direction to throw the angle-plate F' into position over the plate-to be bent, and the said angleplate F/ is thrown away from this position to receive a new plate by means of a spring g, inserted between the bracket a7 and a collar f fixed on the rod G.

There are two 'bending-tools shaped and operated to bend the edges of the plate downwardly and inwardly over the guide-plate F, which serves as an anvil during the bending operation, and two tools constructed and operated to bend adjacent edges of the plate up and over the edges of the angle-plate F, which also serves as an anvil for this purpose. These several tools are shown in plan in Fig. 2, while Figs. 4 and 5 represent one of each type of the tools in the position which they occupy when the plate is first laid upon them and the position which they assume when the bending is completed. The tools for bending the edges downwardly and inwardly are denoted by H and H, the former being shown in section in Figs. 4 and 5 and the latter in face elevation in said figures, while the two are shown in top plan in Fig. 2. It is to be understood, however, that the tool H' has a section substantially corresponding to the section of the tool H. When in its normal position, the tool H rests with a projecting lip 7L in position to receive thereonthe edge-in the present instance at the end of the plate to be bentand a curved bendingnger 71, extends upwardly from the lip or shoulder 77,. The length of the bending-tool H corresponds to the length of the edge of the plate with which it engages and it is mounted to rock on a spindle h2, supported iu tops of flexible standards h3, fixed to the bed-frame A. A tailpiece h4 extends from the tool H and is connected by a link h5 with a rocking arm h6 in position to be lifted by an operating-bar k7, fulcrumed on a bracket as and operated by a cam 197 on the drive-shaft B. A standard a9 is provided at its top with a curved face hs in position to engage the tailpiece h4 when the link h5 is lifted to bring the tool in engagement with the edge of the plate and serves to push the tool inwardly into the position shown in Fig. 5 to complete the bend of the edge of the plate, the flexible standards 7b3 yielding to permit the tool to be bodily moved toward the plate. The same operating-bar k7 which vlifts the arm h6 to operate the tool H is connected by a link hf with the tail of the tool H, which is mounted similarly to the tool H on flexible standards h1() 71,11 and which is forced to operate on the edge of the plate in the same manner that the tool H operates on it-viz., to bend its edge downwardly and inwardly over the edge f of the angleplate F, which serves as an anvil for this purpose. The tool H is forced bodily inwardly by the engagement of its tailpiece with the curved face of a standard am in a manner quite similar to that in which the tool H is forced in by engagement with the surface hB on the standard ai. The tools for bending the other edges of the plate up and over the edges of the angle-plate or anvil F are denoted by I and I', the former being shown in section in Figs. 4 and 5 and both being shown in top plan in Fig. 2. These tools are quite similar in their general structure, and con- IOO IIO

655,903 v ai sist of a hub portion from which projects a curved finger i, on which the edge of the plate rests when the tool is in its normal position before the bending operation begins. Like the tool H, I is mounted in a iiexible standard or standards i', fixed to the bed-frame, and its tailpiece i2 is connected by a link with a rocking arm t4 in position to be depressed by a lever i5, fulcrumed in a bracket au, fixed on the bed-frame and operated by a cam o8 on the drive-shaft B. The same lever i5 is connected with the tailpiece of the tool I by means of a link i6. The tool I is mounted in the ends of spring-,actuated plates K K, (see Fig. 2,) having a limited horizontal sliding motion with respect to their supportingplate am to permit the bending-tool to be forced bodily inward by the face of the standard di in a manner quite similar to that in which the tool I is forced inwardly by the curved face of the standard is. (See Figs. 4 and 5.)

By locating the yielding supports K K in a horizontal plane above the path of the angle-plate or anvil F the latter is permitted a free swinging movement into and out of its position beneath the plate to be edged.

.I ust before the plate is deposited in position to be edged the angle-plate or anvil F is rocked into position to receive it, and after it has been deposited and while the lifting and feeding arm C is` being returned to its position to pick up a succeeding plate the angleplate and anvil F is rocked into position above the plate. As soon as this is accomplished the bending-tools are simultaneously operated to bend two adjacent edges of the plates downwardly and inwardly and the remaining two edges upwardly and inwardly. This having been accomplished and While a succeeding plate is being picked up by the lifter, the angle-plates or anvils F F are swung outwardly, permitting the plate, with its bent edges, to drop onto any suitable receiver on or below the bed A, and the tools are then returned to the position to receive another plate.

It is obvious that changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to the structure herein set forth; but

l. The combination with the bending-tools and-means for operating them, of a sheet-lifting arm, means forimparting a rocking movement to the arm and means for moving the arm and sheet carried thereby bodily in a direction lateral to the rocking movement of the' arm from the supply to the position where the plate is to be operated upon, substantially as set forth.

2. Thecombination with means for simultaneously bending the edges of a sheet and means for operating the bending means, of a sheet-lifting arm, a suction apparatus arranged to hold the sheet temporarily to the arm and means for moving the sheet and arm bodily from the supply to the point where the sheet is to be edged, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a drive-shaft, of bending-tools arranged to aot'simultaneously on the four sides of a sheet, sheet-conveying mechanism and a suction apparatus, and means for placing the tools, conveyer and suction 4mechanism under the control of the drive-shaft, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with a set of bendingtools arranged tooperate upon dierent edges of a sheet of metal and means for operating them, of a movable guide or anvil common to two adjacent sets of tools arranged to swing into and out of position to cooperate with the said tools, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with tools arranged to bend different edges of a sheet of metal over toward opposite sides of the sheet, of anvils or guides arranged to swing into and out of position to cooperate with the said tools, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with a yielding support, of a bending-tool mounted in rocking adjustment in said yielding support, means for automatically feeding a sheet of metal to the bending-tool, means for holding asheet of metal in position to have its edge bent by said tool and means for simultaneously rocking the tool and forcing it bodily toward the edge of the sheet of metal, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with sets of tools arranged to act upon different edges of a sheet of metal, of means for sim ultaneously operating one set of tools in one direction to bend an edge upward and over toward one face of the sheet and the other set of tools in the opposite direction, to turn an edge of the sheet downward and under toward the opposite face of the sheet, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination with tools arranged to simultaneously bend two adjacent edges of a sheet of metal over toward the one face of the sheet and tools arranged to bend, at the same time, another two adjacent edges of the sheet toward the opposite face of the sheet, of movable guides or anvils arranged to swing into and out of position to coperate with the several bending-tools, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 27th day of October, 1899.

WILLIAM MARTIN.

Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, EDWARD y VIEsER.

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